Guam Visitors Bureau

The island of Guam, a US Territory, is generating increasing interest and business in the MICE industry as an emerging destination among organizations in North America and Asia — particularly following the opening last November of the new Convention Center at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort.

With 9,450 hotel rooms on the island as a whole and several venues capable of hosting everything from small groups to conventions with up to 4,000 delegates, Guam offers a fresh alternative for meetings, conferences and incentives.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization & PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) 2016 Annual Summit were held in Guam earlier this year, while the World Health Organization Conference in 2015 and MetLife & Toyota events highlight the world class organizations that endorse Guam’s meetings credentials.

Pilar Laguana, Director of Global Marketing of the Guam Visitors Bureau commented: “We’ve seen a notable rise in enquiries and bookings from the meetings and incentive travel sector in the last 12 months. The Convention Center and our investment in dedicated MICE sector marketing such as exhibiting at IMEX America for the first time in 2015 have significantly boosted awareness and interest. We have especially had more incoming contacts from China, Korea, and North America and expect this growth to continue following IMEX America 2016.”

Guam combines unspoiled natural beauty, superb traditional food and culture, and meetings capabilities with technology. Having been able to build up a tech infrastructure from a clean slate, the island offers strong wifi connectivity, and the Guam Visitors Bureau is creating a Guam meetings planner portal, as well as developing a Smart Guam strategy to help delegates leverage mobile devices and the Internet of Things.

Pilar Laguana, Director of Global Marketing sums up: “Guam is well equipped to accommodate a wide variety of conferences, incentives, team-building and networking events for any industry sector.

“The growth in the MICE sector follows a significant increase in overall visitor numbers to the island which have doubled in recent years and we expect MICE industry business also to grow substantially in the next few years.”